Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon Volume 6

“?!”
Lilly suddenly felt a pressure from behind her before she was tapped on the
shoulder.
The palm of Zanis’s hand was all it took to send the girl crashing to the floor.
Nauseating pain overtook her as her body tumbled forward on the stone floor.
Fighting through it, Lilly climbed to her feet and started running once again.
“Fu…ha-ha-ha-ha-hahahaha?! Now now, Erde, what’s the rush?!”
The man’s menacing laughter sounded from behind her. Lilly frowned and
continued pressing onward.
A moment later, the man’s boot plowed straight into her ribs.
“Agh!”
“Don’t tell me, you’re going to try to meet with Lord Soma? Pointless!
Absolutely pointless!”
His kick sent her face-first toward the wall. Fighting to find her balance, Lilly
kept moving forward.
Her thin legs reached their limit and Lilly had to thrust her hand out to the
wall to catch herself.
“What makes you think that he’ll listen to you? The only thing our god cares
about is his wine!”
“Ighhh…!”
“Runts like you are nothing but background noise to him! No matter how
much you revere him, asking for help will leave you with nothing but dismay!”
He let Lilly gain some distance before catching up and striking her again.
Then he’d do some more taunting and repeat the process over and over. Be it his
fists or his feet, one strike was enough to send Lilly’s small body flying in any
direction he wanted.
It’d become a game to him. His black shadow would overtake Lilly, then he’d
decide how to hit, enjoy her squeal of pain, and then look down over her as she
got up and kept going forward.
All the while he would jubilantly remark about how all her effort was for
nothing.
“You’re a strange one, Erde! I thought you were smarter than this! I liked that
cold look in your eyes, like you hated the world and everything in it!”
In her darkest days, she had tried many times to escape the abyss only to have
her connection to Soma Familia drag her right back in. The shell of a man who
was Zanis sneered at Lilly.
However, the tears welling up in Lilly’s eyes were not caused by her dark

past but by the pain coursing through her body. She would never show tears of
sadness again. She had already shed far too many.

Overcoming Zanis’s physical and verbal attacks, Lilly pressed on. Forward,
forward until she finally found the stairwell and climbed to the third floor.

There were only a few walls on this floor, making one large room with one
area portioned off—Soma’s private room. Lilly channeled all the strength she
had left into her legs and made a break for it.

“Three, two…WHAM!”
“AGUHH!”
Zanis counted down and playfully announced his own kick, hitting Lilly right
between the shoulder blades with all of his strength. The girl’s body whipped
through the air like a rag doll.
However, his kick sent her hurtling toward the door to the private chamber.
Lilly folded her arms across her chest and used that momentum to break it open.
SLAM! Lilly tumbled into the chamber as the doors creaked on their hinges
after slamming into the walls on both sides.
“…”
Soma was there.
He stood in front of the wide balcony, tending to many different kinds of
plants growing in the sunlight.
He paid absolutely no attention to the sounds of battle outside the window or
even to Lilly’s loud entrance. The amount of water that each plant received,
future ingredients for his wine, was the only thing on his mind at the moment.
“Lord Soma! Lord Soma! Please listen to what Lilly has to say!”
The deity kept his back to her as Lilly tried to peel her injury-ridden body off
the stone floor.
At first, the god continued working in his slightly dirty robe despite Lilly’s
pleas until finally turning around with a slightly annoyed look on his face.
Zanis had entered the chamber—it was he who Soma was looking at through
his long bangs.
“This is much too bothersome, Zanis. I left all trivial matters in your hands.”
Ignored by her own god. Lilly was shocked.
Zanis enjoyed the look on her face to no end, gleefully chuckling under his
breath. He kept his eyes on the girl and said:
“I apologize for the abruptness, Lord Soma. It appears that one Lilliluka Erde
wishes to speak with you directly. Won’t you lend her your ears?”
Zanis spoke with a calm and almost mocking tone, as if he knew what was

about to happen.
Looking even more perturbed, Soma shifted his gaze down toward Lilly.
The girl managed to force her aching body into a kneeling position.
“I beg you, Lord Soma. Please bring an end to the battle taking place outside

—please save Lady Hestia and those fighting alongside her! Please, please…!”
Soma’s cheek twitched as if Lilly’s voice had hurt his ears. He slowly

squared his shoulders in front of her.
He opened his mouth to speak, but the expression on his face showed that he

believed it to be a waste of time.
“What good are the words of a child who succumbs to wine so…easily?”
“—”
Lilly fell silent after hearing Soma’s monotone words. A cold chill swept

through her veins.
But it was the look in his eyes that did it, made Lilly realize the truth.
Soma was disappointed. Disappointed in his own followers, disappointed in

the world of Gekai.
The Divine Wine, soma, had caused Soma Familia to collapse from within.

Just as he said before, the children succumbed to the power of the drink he was
giving them as a reward. They soon began fighting amongst themselves for
more, became selfish beyond belief.

From the god Soma’s point of view, all he did was reward them with
delicious wine for their services. But rather than thank him, they turned on one
another for more drunken pleasure. He had become disillusioned by their
primitive reaction to his more refined methods.

—Soma harbored no ill will. He had no urge to inflict pain. At this point, he
had no interest in any followers like Lilly at all. He was completely detached.

The divine being who’d had enough of the crude people of Gekai continued
to produce soma and reward the children who made it possible for him to focus
on his craft.

“The words of children who succumb are…irrelevant.”
Soma’s eyes, black as ink, were finally pointed in Lilly’s direction. However,
Lilly’s face was not reflected in them, only empty disappointment.
Lilly remained still, unable to find any words in the face of her god’s cold
stare. It was Soma who moved first.
He took a bottle of white wine off one of the shelves built into the wall of his
chamber.
Lilly watched in dumbfounded silence as Soma took a glass from a different

shelf and said to her:
“If you can say the same thing after drinking this, I’ll listen.”
—She couldn’t breathe.
The deity poured the wine into the glass, its cool yet sweet aroma filling the

room. He held the glass out to her. Lilly looked at her own reflection on the
surface of the white liquid.

Divine Wine.
Her throat clenched. Sweat poured down her face. The glass nearly slipped
from her grasp as she tried to take it with both hands.
Memories of the dark days when she was under the influence of soma’s
power rampaged through her mind. She looked back up at Soma, shoulders
shaking in fright. The god’s face was void of emotion as he watched her from
behind his bangs.
Zanis watched all of these events unfold, smiling as if he’d seen this coming.
“Ah, aah…!”
Lilly stood up on unstable legs.
Her breaths very shallow and staggered, she took another look at the glass in
her hands.
She had no choice. In order to save Hestia, in order to finally break her ties
with this Familia, she had no choice but to drink it.
Lilly brought the glass to her lips, hands shaking and palms clammy.
This wine had once turned Lilly into little more than a monster.
It had stolen her life from her, caused all of her problems.
Under the watchful eyes of Soma and Zanis, Lilly willed her mouth open and
drank it down.
“—”
The world warped around her in the blink of an eye.
A boundless drunken euphoria enveloped her. The bliss was intense enough
to bend her consciousness.
Tink! The glass fell out of her hands, hit the floor, and rolled away.
Her arms and legs quivered. She couldn’t keep standing and fell to her knees
like a puppet whose strings had just been cut.
Acute warmth filled her cheeks as her eyes went out of focus…Lilly giggled.
“—a…haa.”
The flavor of the most delicious wine in existence made her heart melt.
Soma watched the girl’s spirit disappear and turned his back to her without a
second thought. Lilly’s ears stopped picking up the sounds around her, with only

one exception: Zanis’s bloodcurdling laughter.
Overwhelming contentment spread throughout her body. Memories flashed

before her eyes before disappearing again. Nothing inside this room mattered to
her, was worth seeing. Even her purpose for being here, why she was so
determined to drink the soma, felt like nothing more than a passing thought.
Everything that made Lilly who she was evaporated in an instant.

She saw everything in the room with a white hue.
Her body, mind, and spirit were warm.
Down, down, down she went.
Then, just as the white was about to embrace her, she saw something.

A boy, a smiling boy.

“—”
Her craving intensified. The animal that demanded soma within her was on
the brink of taking over.
But amid all the white around her, she saw how the boy smiled when he
saved her that day.
It remained deep within her soul even after everything else had been erased.
His smile stayed with her.
“…”
A single tear slowly rolled down her cheek.
Her slack, open mouth smiled for a moment before weakening again. Lilly’s
head started to rise.
The warmth of the boy’s smile had awakened her heart, filled her with new
emotion, and caused a tear to be shed.
Lilly had returned.
“……Please.”
Not much sound escaped her lips, but it was enough to stop Soma in his
tracks.
A moment later, he spun around with vigor.
His long bangs swung out of the way, revealing his black eyes. Lilly’s
trembling figure reflected within them.
“…Stop it, please.”
Her words were getting clearer.
Soma and Zanis looked on in disbelief.
Lilly made eye contact with Soma.

“Lilly’s begging you—stop the fight!”
Her words were unchanged as even more tears trickled down her face.
“Wha…”
She didn’t know if that sound came from Soma or from Zanis.
She persevered. Lilly held off the effects of soma.
Countless people had fallen under its spell, becoming little more than savages
in the process. And yet this little, fragile girl had not.
It didn’t matter that her Status was low, that her body was weak. She defeated
soma with sheer willpower.
“Lilly wants to save those people!”
She yelled her most earnest desire as loud as she could.
She sounded no different from a sobbing child.
Bonds with her allies had been forged in the fire, and she was a Phoenix
emerging from the flame, guided by them.
“Lilly knows, even without any gods telling her, Lilly knows that she was
born for this moment!”
It was highly unlikely that Lilly would ever forget.
Even if she died and was reborn many times, even in the deepest pits of
hell…
Lilly would never forget the smile on that boy’s face.
“Every mistake Lilly has made was in preparation for this day!”
The warmth of the hands that reached out for her, the kindness of his
embrace.
She’d never forget the smile of the one who rescued her.
The image that had been seared into her very soul would never fade.
“This time, it’s Lilly’s turn to save him!”
Bell’s smiling face and warmth filling every corner of her mind, Lilly yelled
once again.
She had not forgotten all of the mistakes she made and the gray areas of her
past. Those memories gave her the strength to keep shouting.
“Please, bring an end to this battle!”
Lilly’s voice was loud enough to be heard outside the tower.
“……”
Soma stood, unblinking eyes locked on the girl.
Gods did not grow or feel distress of any kind. It was hard to comprehend
what just unfolded.
Seeing a person of Gekai change right before his eyes for the first time left

Soma speechless.
“No way…?!”
Zanis sensed danger in the expression on his god’s face.
His feeling of invincibility gone, he pleaded with the deity.
“Lord Soma, you mustn’t listen to her! Our Familia is under attack—!”
“Quiet, Zanis.”
Soma turned away without so much as a glance in his direction.
Zanis fell silent, face twitching as he knew that there was no chance for a

counterargument. Soma made eye contact with Lilly once again.
His ink-colored eyes clearly reflected the young girl’s gaze. Then he walked

toward the end of his chamber and opened the large window.
The empty wine bottle still in his hand, Soma stepped out onto the balcony.

He could see the battle raging in the courtyard beneath him. Standing next to the
railing, he raised the bottle high above his head and threw it into the courtyard.

Spinning end over end, the bottle sent flares of sunlight flashing all over the
battle before crashing into the middle of it.

The shattering sound made all members of Soma Familia come to a halt.
Every head in the courtyard turned toward the balcony, waiting with bated
breath.
“Stop fighting.”
Soma looked down on the rest of his followers as he made his declaration.
Soma Familia’s members were blindsided by a direct order from a god who
had never shown any interest in anything other than his hobby before. No one
even considered going against it.
Ignoring Zanis’s commands, they listened to a higher power and put down
their weapons.
“Soma moved on his own…?!”
An uneasy silence descended over the battlefield. Zanis couldn’t believe what
he was seeing, his eyes glued to Soma’s back. He shook his head from side to
side, refusing to accept what was happening. His mask of refined intelligence
broken once again, muscles all over his body began twitching nervously.
He rocked on the balls of his feet—BANG! The main doors at the base of the
tower had been kicked in. His shoulders flexed.
Knowing that the intruders would soon arrive, Zanis looked around the room
in a panic. His eyes narrowed as soon as he saw Lilly on the floor.
“Damn you! At least give me the pleasure of slicing you open before—!”
Zanis jumped toward Lilly like a beast capturing its prey.

The man had only seen her as possible profit; he captured her out of greed.
His avarice made him torment her and now she was too physically weak to run
away or defend herself. She was the reason why his perfect world had come
crumbling down. Withdrawing a rapier from the hilt on his belt, he smiled to
himself, believing that she should be punished for what she had done to him. He
reached out with his left hand.

However, just before his fingers reached her collar…
An arrow was fired at his chest.
“?!”
Zanis barely managed to avoid the attack that came from outside the window.
The arrow buried itself in the wall behind him, making a small web of cracks
in the stone. Zanis looked back outside in shock.
There, standing on top of the nearest lookout tower, was a Chienthrope
wielding a longbow.
“I’m ready! Fire away!”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
Zanis heard the voice of a young man and saw a flash of gold as the
Chienthrope took a new arrow from him and promptly slid it over her bow. She
pulled this new golden arrow back, took aim, and fired in one swift motion. But
she wasn’t targeting Zanis. The arrow plunged deep into the stone wall next to
the balcony.
The man had only a moment to feel surprise—he saw a very thick wire
attached to the end of the arrow. His surprise turned to disbelief.
As if to confirm his wildest fear, a young man with red hair and a greatsword
over his shoulder ran across the wire toward him.
“?!”
The red-haired man kept his balance, pulling off some very acrobatic moves
as he raced across the wire bridge connecting the two towers. The wire held firm
under his weight. Sword balanced against his shoulder, Welf quickly reached the
balcony, jumped over the silent Soma’s head, and landed just in front of the
window.
The smith’s black jacket unfurled behind him as he stepped inside the
chamber and came to a stop in front of Zanis and Lilly, both wearing looks of
astonishment.
“It’s time for you to come back, Li’l E.”
“Mr. Welf…”
“We’re gettin’ outta here.”

Welf set his jaw, smiling at Lilly before turning to Zanis.
“I’ve come to collect this one. I’ve got a partner who is waiting for her.”
“Rrrgh—Like hell you are!” Zanis charged without hesitation, brandishing
his weapon high in the air. Welf held his own weapon in his right hand and
rushed to meet him.
A rapier against a greatsword in a duel.
The two blades collided in a shower of sparks, the opening bell.
“Come at me, smithy!”
With the ferocity of a madman, Zanis stepped into a forward slash before
whipping his blade around and into an upward slice.
All he managed to do was take a small slice out of Welf’s black jacket. It was
an attack that would have skewered any lower-class adventurer, but the young
man dodged it handily and used that momentum to slash his own sword
diagonally upward at his opponent. Zanis was unable to step into his next attack.
Both Level 2 adventurers, they matched each other blow for blow, and their
movements gradually picked up speed.
The shock waves generated on impact were strong enough to make Lilly lean
backward as the echoes of their clashing blades filled the chamber. Welf
deflected Zanis’s spinning strikes and high kicks with the armor on his left arm,
not allowing any attack to hit home.
Zanis used his rage to fuel an onslaught of slashes.
Welf held his ground, using his sword like a highly mobile shield despite its
weight.
Considering the weapons the combatants were using, Zanis held several
advantages. He knew speed was on his side and he could use it to overpower his
red-haired adversary. Welf calmly read his movements and narrowed his eyes.
“Tough to bully an upper-class adventurer.”
Welf’s back, shoulders, and arms all flared to life at the same moment.
The massive blade whipped around the young man’s body in a powerful arc.
It met Zanis’s downward slash head-on, overpowered it, and sent the rapier
flying.
“—”
Time stood still for Zanis.
His techniques and maneuvers were useless in a contest of strength—a
“warrior smith” like Welf wasn’t about to fall for the same tricks that
adventurers who relied on a high Status would overlook.
Lilly heard Welf’s black jacket swish as the man closed the distance between

him and his unnaturally rigid opponent.
Seeing everything in slow motion, Zanis tried to jump out of the way but

watched helplessly as Welf’s left foot collided with his chest.
Then he saw the blade flash as it spun around.
Welf had flipped his hold on the weapon so that the blunt edge was facing his

enemy.
“Sloppy. That weapon of yours is crying.”
With that said, Welf drove the entire blade forward in a rising arc aimed right

for his opponent’s head.
“GHEEEEE—!”
The blow struck Zanis with such precision that it split his glasses right down

the middle before launching him backward.
Momentum carried his body straight into the wall, the man’s scream of pain

cut short by the impact.
Zanis fell to the stone floor like a bag of potatoes. The blunt edge of Welf’s

greatsword left a thick red line down the center of the motionless man’s face.
What was left of his glasses lay on the floor beside him.

“That should do it,” said Welf as he returned the blade into its sheath at his
shoulder and looked down at the white eyes of his unconscious foe.

“Ya really got it done…Won’t have ta drink as much tonight.”
“…Mr. Chandra?”
Soma Familia’s Chandra had appeared in the chamber and stood behind Lilly,
commenting on Welf’s victory in the duel against Zanis.
The usual unfriendly expression on his face, Chandra turned the man’s body
over and fitted him with sturdy handcuffs that even upper-class adventurers
would have difficulty breaking.
“He was stealin’ soma, usin’ it for his own profit. Deserves some time in the
slammer.”
“What happens now…?”
“I’ll make sure ya get no trouble. It’s all up to our god after that…Maybe
now our voices will reach ’im.”
Apparently, Zanis had hijacked the Familia using Soma’s name and punished
anyone who dared say anything against him. Now that his treachery had been
exposed right in front of Soma’s eyes, Chandra felt that the new era was about to
begin.
The god himself was still out on the balcony, assessing the damage to his
chamber—but his gaze always came back to Lilly.

“Are you all right, Supporter?”
“Lady Hestia…”
It wasn’t long before Hestia and the other adventurers led by Mikoto and
Ouka made it to the third floor of the main tower.
Truly grateful to Lilly for all of her hard work, the two made eye contact for a
moment before Hestia walked over to talk with Soma.
“I would like to make a deal for the supporter, Lilliluka Erde, to join my
Familia.”
“…”
Soma stood silently on the balcony as Hestia stopped just before the open
window, neither of them blinking.
“Please accept this knife as collateral for payment.”
“L-Lady Hestia, that’s—?!”
“It’s all right. I’ve talked with Bell.”
Lilly gasped when she saw the goddess hold out the Hestia Knife and hand it
to Soma.
“This knife is a very expensive weapon. If we should lose the War Game, you
can get a lot of money for it.”
“…”
“But if we win, I’ll buy it back from you with our reward money…I’ll make
Apollo pay for it in full. Once you have the money, I’ll take my knife back.”
She explained that should Hestia Familia win the War Game, she was
planning to take a large sum of money from Apollo. Soma held the weapon in
his hands, running his thumb down the Ἥφαιστος logo engraved into its sheath.
He looked up at her.
“Indeed, this is more than satisfactory. She may leave my Familia.”
His lips barely moved as he spoke to Hestia.
Welf, Mikoto’s group, and Chandra stood quietly in the doorway as Soma
once again cast his gaze upon Lilly.
Badly injured and still bleeding, she managed to make eye contact. The two
stayed still until finally an answer was heard.
Soma shifted his posture to face Hestia head-on and nodded, saying, “I
accept.”

Hestia, Soma, and Lilly went to the second floor of the main tower, leaving

everyone else behind.
All three of them entered a small room that had no windows. There was no

need to worry about any information being exposed to prying eyes or ears. The
three set to work in the dim light.

Lilly sat on a chair, pulled off her shirt, and exposed the Status on her back.
Soma made a small cut on his finger and ran it across the hieroglyphs, the ichor
in his blood making the markings glow.

His finger made quick movements across her skin, as if unscrambling a
puzzle. The hieroglyphs glowed brighter with each passing moment until every
mark started to blink.

Now it was Hestia’s turn. Pricking her finger, she added her own ichor to the
mix, gradually erasing several hieroglyphs as their color faded. The markings
indicating Soma’s contract disappeared from sight as Hestia’s name and symbols
engraved themselves above Lilly’s name at the top of her Status.

Conversion.
A ceremony that allowed a child of Gekai to be transferred from one Familia
to another.
A ring of light worked its way around the girl’s Status, making it look like an
epitaph in the dimly lit room. The markings for Hestia Familia shined brightly at
the top.
From this moment onward, Lilly was now one of Hestia’s followers.
“Lady Hestia…is this really okay? Using Mr. Bell’s precious weapon in a
trade for Lilly…?”
“Perfectly fine. Everything will be back to normal if we win the War Game.
And we need you for a chance at winning. No problem at all.”
Lilly’s nerves had settled down considerably now that the ceremony was
complete and she was fully dressed. However, the collateral made her uneasy.
Despite that, Hestia puffed out her chest and said everything would take care of
itself.
“Trust me, no problem. Now let’s go.”
“Y-yes…”
Lilly’s eyes kept jumping from one deity to the other. Hestia placed both
hands on the girl’s shoulders and guided her out the door.
“…Hest…ia?”
“That’s me. What is it?”
Hestia closed the door behind Lilly and turned to face the god she was
meeting for the first time. Soma wasn’t even sure how to pronounce her name.

Only the two of them remained inside the small room.
“…Did that girl actually receive my Blessing?”
Even now, he remembered the strong look in her eyes. And yet Soma had no
memory of her. Hestia was the only one he could ask.
“Without a doubt, she is one of the children who suffered due to your selfish
discontent. She’s a little girl who grew strong as a result of your neglect.”
Hestia took it a step further, telling him to imagine how much Lilly had
suffered after being abandoned by her own god.
The blue in her eyes became intense orbs in the dark as Soma was unable to
respond to her accusations.
“You should think long and hard about why she changed, the meaning behind
it.”
Hestia had her hand on the door handle as she wrapped up her lecture with
that and left the room.
Soma was left alone with his thoughts.
He stood there quietly, Hestia’s words running through his mind.

Hestia and Lilly rejoined the others at the base of the main tower and exited
Soma Familia’s wine storage facility.

Miach had been waiting one block away in case of an emergency. Joining the
group of more than ten, they all ran together through the backstreets.

“Lilly’s very sorry for the trouble she’s caused…Thank you.”
“It’s all right…”
“Think nothing of it, Miss Lilly.”
“That’s right…It’s nice to see you again.”
Nahza, Mikoto, and Chigusa—her eyes hidden behind her bangs as usual—
responded to Lilly’s apology.
Welf and the massive Ouka, holding a greatsword and a battle-ax over their
respective shoulders, were having their own conversation next to the girls.
“That wire, did you bring it with you?”
“Nah, found it in that tower. Thought it might be useful so I picked it up.”
The sun seemed to be smiling down at them as everyone celebrated the
success of their mission.
Lilly moved closer to Hestia.
“But, Lady Hestia, Lilly doesn’t understand how she can make a difference in

the War Game by herself…”
Hestia smiled at her confusion and then looked back at the path ahead.
“Not quite.”
Hestia shook her head as Miach spoke up.
“You won’t be alone.”
All they had done was increase Lilly’s confusion. She tilted her head in their

direction and Miach smiled back at her. Feeling another gaze on her, Lilly
looked the other way to see Mikoto with a very determined look in her eyes.

Even Welf was smiling at her.
The group reached a four-way intersection.
“See ya later, Li’l E.”
“…Lady Hestia, we’ll take our leave here.”
Welf peeled away from the group and went down the right path. Ouka,
Mikoto, and Chigusa led their group down the road to the left.
Miach, Nahza, and Lilly watched them leave from the center of the
intersection when a sudden breeze swept through the backstreet.
Hestia held her black hair out of her eyes with her right hand.
She looked up at the blue sky, where the wind was blowing in a new
direction.

“Hmmm—gahhh…”
Takemikazuchi groaned.
He was pacing back and forth inside his own room in an old building

designed to house multiple families, built on the side of a narrow street. The god
lived alongside his six-member Familia; this building was their home. Arms
folded in front of his chest, he wore a troubled expression.

“The War Game…I want to assist Hestia, but…”
The Guild had already announced the details of the War Game.
Takemikazuchi knew full well that it was a castle-assault style and everything
that entailed.
His good friend needed military might and he wanted to help her. But he was
in a quandary.
Should he transfer one of his own followers to Hestia Familia with a
conversion ceremony, or not?
“It’s impossible for Miach. He only has one and his Familia will collapse

should she leave…”
Without any members, Miach Familia would be disbanded by default and

revoked by the Guild. Miach would lose the reputation and recognition he’d
worked so hard to gain. There was also the possibility that he could be forced to
sell his home in order to pay off current debts.

Takemikazuchi completed yet another lap around his room, mumbling to
himself as he considered every possibility.

“Even among my own children, the only two who could compete with
Apollo’s children are Ouka and Mikoto. Chigusa and the others would only
weigh them down…”

Chigusa and the other three were still Level 1 adventurers. Only Ouka and
Mikoto made sense.

“Ouka is the captain. I can’t send him…”
Which would mean the only option was Mikoto—
“Would she be willing to go to a different Familia…?”
Mikoto loved Takemikazuchi Familia too much.
She’d always had a strong sense of justice and an urge to do what was right.
Was she capable of betraying Ouka and her allies? There was also the mission
given to them by their hometown in the Far East to consider—Mikoto would
never abandon it.
“I’ll just have to find some way to convince her…After all, I’m the one who
wants to help Hestia…But wait, if I did that…Ghaaaaaa…!” Takemikazuchi
stopped in the middle of the room and scratched his head with both hands as he
groaned at the ceiling.
Caught up in a fit of very ungodlike indecision, he almost didn’t hear the
knock outside his door.
“Lord Takemikazuchi, it is Mikoto…May I speak with you?”
“Ohh!” The deity jumped on the spot in surprise at the girl’s visit.
Mikoto must’ve interpreted his surprise as an affirmative and opened the door
with a slight bow.
“…? Has something happened, my lord?”
“N-no. Everything’s fine. Nothing to worry about.”
The girl tilted her head as Takemikazuchi hastily straightened his hair.
Forcing an air of calm, the deity closed his mouth and looked upon his
follower. She, too, wore a distressed expression similar to his own.
Her silky black hair was tied back in its usual style. However, she carried
herself without her normal level of confidence, shoulders uncharacteristically

drooping. Even her violet-colored eyes were trembling as she met his gaze.
The two stood face-to-face in silence.
The tension building, Takemikazuchi gave in and opened his mouth.
“—Mi-Mikoto.”
“—Lord Takemikazuchi!”
The two spoke at exactly the same moment.
Both paused, saying, “My apologies, go ahead,” and, “Speak first, I insist,”

back and forth.
Mikoto was the first to accept the offer.
She took a deep breath and made eye contact with her god.
A moment later, she threw herself to the floor at his feet. Takemikazuchi

Familia’s special technique, the prostrate bow.
“Please forgive me!”
“Wh-what?”
Takemikazuchi was taken aback by Mikoto’s sudden plea, her hands, knees,

and forehead on the floorboards.
She didn’t look up, only raised her voice to be heard clearly despite speaking

directly into the floor.
“Please allow me to go assist Sir Bell!”
Takemikazuchi’s eyes shot open.
“Despite nearly causing his death, I haven’t done anything to atone for my

actions! I also made a promise; we made a promise to help each other!”
Mikoto’s body shook as her voice took on a more serious tone.
“This is my chance. I can’t abandon him in his time of need…”
The look of surprise gradually left Takemikazuchi’s face as he watched his

follower bare her soul to him.
His shoulders relaxed, arms hung loosely at his sides.
So we both came to the same conclusion…
He had been with her for so long and yet he had failed to anticipate how she

would react to the situation. It was shameful.
Takemikazuchi grimaced before a genuine smile grew on his lips.
“Ahhh…” He let out a long sigh. Mikoto’s shoulders shook once again.
The deity looked back up at the ceiling and mumbled under his breath.
“One year…Such a long time.”
Mikoto looked up with a start.
It was a rule among Familias: A child who had been transferred to a different

group with Conversion could not be transferred again for at least one year.

Mikoto immediately understood what his words meant. Her face grew
brighter and brighter by the second.

“But it will pass. Learn as much as you can from Hestia’s children and come
back stronger than ever.”

“—Yes, sir!”
Mikoto brought her fist and palm together as Takemikazuchi smiled upon her.
Lastly, she gave him her Familia emblem for him to hold on to until she
returned.

Mikoto Yamato had joined Hestia Familia.

“…”
Hephaistos sat at her desk, examining a dagger in her hands.
She was visiting one of her Familia’s shops located on Northwest Main.

Rather than working in her private office, she was focusing on this particular
weapon.

There was a story behind its maker. A rather difficult child, his skills had
been rather unpolished at the time he forged this dagger, but passion for his craft
alone gave him incredible potential—that “passion” could be felt by anyone who
used the blade.

Hephaistos herself could feel it coursing through her when there came a
knock at her door.

“Enter.”
She opened one of the desk drawers at her side, returned the blade to its
sheath, and placed it inside.
Closing the drawer, Hephaistos looked up to see the silhouette of a young
man in a black jacket standing in the doorway: Welf.
“What is it?”
Rather than answering, Welf walked up to the other side of her desk.
Showing no hesitation, he came as close as the desk would allow and met her
gaze.
“I’ve come to say good-bye.”
He closed his eyes and continued.
“I’m joining Hestia Familia. Please allow it.”

This was not a request for permission, but a demonstration of strong will and
determination.

Leaving Hephaistos Familia would mean that he would be forbidden to use
her logo as a smith. Despite attaining his dream of becoming a High Smith at
long last, he was willing to forfeit the right to engrave “Ἥφαιστος” into any of
his work and leave Hephaistos behind.

“And what makes you think I would allow such a selfish decision?”
“Because the goddess I know and love would scold me if I didn’t.”
Welf responded without missing a beat.
Hephaistos displayed no emotion, her face stoic as she asked another
question.
“Didn’t you want to overcome the blood in your veins, create a weapon that
exceeds magic swords?”
“As long as I have a hammer, metal, and a good flame, I can forge weapons
anywhere. The one who taught me that was you.”
Even apart from her, he would work to spread his name and reach a higher
plateau.
He answered her without any hesitation.
“And what was it that inspired this intense enthusiasm?”
Welf raised his chin and grinned.

“Friendship.”

At long last, a smile appeared on Hephaistos’s lips.
“Then I accept.”
Hephaistos stood up from her desk and walked toward a long line of
hammers on a shelf behind her.
She selected one that was the same crimson color as her hair and eyes, and
picked it up.
She approached Welf, still standing in front of her desk, and handed the
hammer to him.
“A parting gift. Use it well.”
Hephaistos said her good-bye by bestowing him with the soul of a smith.
Welf grinned from ear to ear and graciously accepted it with a bow.
“Thank you for everything.”
The fabric in his black jacket ruffled as he turned to leave.
Leaving the goddess he revered behind, Welf confidently strode out of the

office.

Welf Crozzo had joined Hestia Familia.

“…So that’s how it is. Would you mind helping out again?”
Hermes kept a close eye on her face as he asked.
They were a little ways away from The Benevolent Mistress, inside of the

wooden building where the employees lived. The elf Lyu sighed at Hermes’s
forced smile.

“God Hermes, are you mistaking me for some handmaiden?”
“Sorry! But do this for Syr. Bell needs your help!”
“I would like you to refrain from using Syr as a bargaining chip…”
“S-sorry, Lyu…”
“Syr, your apology is unnecessary.”
Three figures huddled together inside Lyu’s private quarters: Hermes, Syr,
and Lyu herself.
There were only a few days left before the War Game. Hermes had lobbied to
allow outside involvement for just this reason, to request her help.
The condition: said outsider must belong to a Familia outside Orario—must
have the blessing of a deity from outside its walls. Since Lyu’s goddess, Astria,
had not been in the city for some time, there would be no objection to her
participation.
Hermes felt slightly guilty for being directly responsible for forcing Bell and
Hestia into the extremely disadvantageous Castle Siege and this was his way to,
kindly, offer his assistance.
“Should I fight, there is a high probability that my identity will be revealed
during the War Game.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll convince everyone that you came from
someplace on the other side of the mountains before the fight begins. No one
will believe you’re a waitress at a bar once I’m through with them.”
Several events in the recent past had landed a hooded adventurer on the
Guild’s blacklist—there were still many who resented the “Gale Wind.” Hermes
already had a plan to help keep her and those living with her anonymous and
safe.

Lyu sighed. “Mother Mia will scold me again.”
Either way, the ex-adventurer couldn’t abandon Bell to his fate. The elf
agreed to Hermes’s request.
The room itself had very little decoration. Lyu walked a few paces to the
corner and grabbed a knapsack along with a wooden sword.
“I’ll handle the paperwork with the Guild. It’d make it a lot easier to jump
through the hoops if I had your Familia’s emblem. Do you still have it?”
“I do. Be sure not to misplace it.”
“It’ll never leave my sight,” he said with a nod as he took the badge engraved
with the sword of justice and wings from her.
Lastly, Lyu approached Syr, who was holding out her cape.
“Do your best, Lyu. I’ll come up with something to say to Mama.”
“You have my gratitude, Syr.”
Lifting the string of her knapsack over her shoulder, Lyu flashed a soft smile.
Hermes and Syr saw her out of the building and watched as she disappeared
into the night.

Lyu Lyon had joined the War Game.

Blades clashed in vicious flurries.
A silver flash, lashing forward at tremendous speed, was blocked head-on by

the downward swing of a crimson blade. Knife and saber collided under the
reddish glow of dusk, their wielders’ blond and white hair flowing in the breeze.

The boy’s long shadow passed over the stone surface, slamming into the
girl’s shadow over and over. Each time he was thrown backward and each time
he charged again.

Their brutal training was taking place on top of the city wall around Orario.
“You learned how to…react without seeing…”
“D-do you really think so…?”
It was already the fifth day.
Aiz lowered her saber, signaling a brief pause in the action. Bell took a deep
breath and took a look at his own body. What was left of the evening sunlight
illuminated all the cuts, scrapes, bruises, and dried blood that littered his skin.
Completely covered in sweat, the boy’s condition showed just how intense these

training sessions had been.
After gathering supplies and setting up a small camp, Bell had committed

himself fully to sparring with Aiz. They started just before the sun rose each
morning and continued until the stars lit up the night, dramatically increasing the
length and intensity of their sessions from the last time they were here. They ate
meals together and slept at the same time; neither of them had gone into the city
even once. A dirty pot and the remains of a fire sat on top of the path just inside
the chest-high stone wall, a guardrail on the city side of the wall. Three water
bottles and three sleeping bags also sat at the base of the guardrail.

Bell had his eyes focused on the cuts crisscrossing his arm when suddenly
—whoosh! A saber came at them from his blind spot without warning. His
instantaneous reflexes brought his weapon into the path of the oncoming blade,
deflecting it before he jumped backward.

Looking very rabbitlike, standing with his left shoulder higher than his right,
he stood at the ready for the next attack. Aiz seemed very satisfied as she nodded
over and over.

“Guess who’s back!”
Bell and Aiz turned to face the owner of the cheerful voice.
Emerging from the doorway of the tower that housed a stairwell connecting
to the city street was Tiona with a very large backpack over her shoulder. She
skipped her way up to them and plopped the backpack at their feet on top of the
stone path with a light “Hup!”
“Picked up a ton of meat and fish! Bread and water, too!”
“Thanks, Tiona…”
“Sure thing! Ah, Argonaut, these blades work okay for you? I bought about
five of them.”
“Y-yes, thank you very much…s-sorry for the trouble.”
Bell stood next to Aiz, scared stiff, as Tiona withdrew the weapons from her
backpack one after another.
Tiona had been supplying the two of them with food and items for the past
five days. It was thanks to her that Bell and Aiz could focus solely on training.
Bell couldn’t shake the feeling that he was building up quite a large debt to
the always smiling, happy-go-lucky Amazonian girl Tiona. With the exception
of Ushiwakamaru, he couldn’t count how many blades had snapped in half or
been damaged beyond repair during their combat sessions.
“Well, I heard quite a bit around town. First off, the War Game is four days
from now.”

“Four days…”
“Yep. It’s gonna happen outside of Orario, so we have to think about travel
time…I’d say you’ve got maybe two more days left.”
Tiona continued to relay the information she had collected that day.
Her update complete, Bell looked out over the guardrail and across the
beautiful cityscape.
“Exactly one week…Goddess.”
The five days of training plus two more would make one week. Bell said a
quick thank-you to his goddess, who had managed to deliver on her promise.
Bell’s ruby-red eyes smiled; he knew that somewhere in this gorgeous city,
Hestia was smiling back.
“Also, you’ll never guess what was posted on the Guild’s bulletin board.
Hestia Familia has some new members.”
“Eh?!”
“Soma, Takemikazuchi, Hephaistos…Looks like all three of them transferred
someone.”
Bell fought to contain his surprise and delight until Tiona was finished
talking. The two girls watched as his face lit up and tears of happiness rolled
down his face.
Hestia had saved Lilly, plus Welf and Mikoto were coming to help him. He
didn’t need to know the details because he already understood. The black void
that had been eating away at him finally lifted, a new warmth flooding his soul.
Bell stretched out his arms. He looked at Aiz and Tiona with renewed
strength and willpower, feeling stronger than ever.
“Another round, please!”
The look in his eyes made Aiz and Tiona smile.
“Yes…”
“Try to keep up!”
The two girls went on the offensive beneath the red sky.

Three sets of legs dashed about with blinding speed.
Aiz, Tiona, and Bell mixed attack with counterattack in the very limited
space on top of the city wall. Two daggers, one silver saber, and two insanely
wide swords struck with jolting impacts, sparks lighting up the twilight sky.
“Ehsaa!”
Bell did everything he could to keep the attacks of two top-class adventurers
at bay. All the while he couldn’t take his eyes off the massive blades in the

Amazonian girl’s grasp. Despite learning how to defend against attacks from the
side, knowing that another blade exactly like that edge of death was following
right behind it sent shivers up his spine.

He knew immediately that the weapons were order made. Seeing her wield
the thick, heavy blades as if they were nothing more than shortswords was the
stuff of nightmares. The Amazonian girl smiled, practically laughing as she
danced her way into every strike.

Rather than trying to defend against such an attack head-on, Bell chose to get
out of the way.

Jumping back to avoid the first and to his right to dodge the second, the boy
managed to get clear. However, Tiona charged forward even though her weapons
weren’t poised to strike.

“Hup!” Spinning in midair, Tiona unleashed a kick right into Bell’s face.
“Geh?!”
The wheat-colored skin of her bare foot buried itself in his cheek, sending the
boy flying backward. Hitting the stone floor and bouncing several times, Bell
rolled to a merciful stop.
“Try not to use potions. If you take one after every hit, you’ll run out really
quick. Better to kick the habit.”
“I-I’ll try…”
Tiona approached him with her swords over her shoulders, looking like
wings from hell. Aiz wasn’t too far behind. Tiona gave him some advice as soon
as she saw the boy’s hand reach for his leg holster.
“That’s the thing about being an adventurer. We still have to be able to move
even after the crap’s been beaten out of us!”
Although she was holding back, the kick of a top-class adventurer to the face
can inflict immense damage. Bell slowly nodded as feeling returned to his head.
Just as she’d suggested, it would be a good idea to learn how to fight well when
not at full strength. The lesson had literally been beaten into him.
Gritting his teeth, Bell climbed to his feet as Tiona looked on with a satisfied
smile.
“My turn.”
“?!”
The session started back up. Bell was forced to use both knives in order to
repel Aiz’s direct attack.
Not only that, Tiona circled around to his blind side and continued her
assault. Two of the greatest sword wielders in Orario weren’t holding back any

techniques on top of the city wall. Bell desperately intercepted each strike,
deflecting the blades out of his ever-changing path. However, he hadn’t come
here to learn how to defend. He had to find a window for counterattack.

Fighting off his own cowardice, Bell surprised both of them by charging
forward.

“!”
Aiz’s posture slipped ever so slightly.
Her feet and shoulders weren’t on the same page, moving in different
directions as Bell came in for his attack. Bell couldn’t believe his luck. The girl’s
feminine frame was trying to retreat, leaving her side wide open. This was his
chance and he didn’t hesitate.
A golden opportunity—score a hit on the Kenki.
Taking aim for her ribs, Bell took a quick step forward and thrust the dagger
in his left hand toward his opponent.
“Hm.”
“—”
But Aiz spun her body around like a top, armor a blur.
Taking advantage of his outstretched position, Aiz easily dodged the weapon
and traded places with Bell. Now directly behind him, she whipped her saber
forward with less than her full strength and nailed the light armor protecting the
boy’s back.
“BuuHA?!”
“You dove for the opening…” said Aiz as Bell landed flat on his chest on top
of the stone floor.
Only then did Bell realize it was a trap. She had baited and set it for the rabbit
as though to demonstrate the prowess of a skilled hunter. Bell’s head hit the
stone surface in disappointment.
The boy pushed off the stone floor into a sitting position. Aiz crouched down
in front of him and continued her lesson.
“Monsters and people fight differently…”
“Y-yes.”
“Monsters always attack head-on, aiming to kill…but people read each other,
change their strategy.”
Unlike monsters that used their full power all the time, people used
techniques and experience to gain the upper hand in a fight. This was especially
true of the combatants of similar strength and skill.
“People become easier to read when they see a window. Just like now.”

“…!”
“Guard is lowest when the final blow is near…That’s what I was taught.”
People became overconfident when they saw victory within their grasp,
which meant they neglected to cover their blind side.
That was especially true during a duel.
Bell looked up, making eye contact with Aiz as she finished her impassioned
explanation.
“Your best opportunity lies in the moment you’ve been cornered. Don’t
forget.”
Bell carved her words into his very soul.
Aiz held out her hand. Bell nodded and took it.
She pulled him to his feet.
“How about some more?”
“Yeah…”
“Yes!”
Both combatants nodded at Tiona’s invitation and their battle heated up once
more.
Lessons of the top-class adventurers fresh in his mind, Bell continued his
training long into the night.

In order to grasp victory or to rescue a friend.
Each of the people caught in the whirlpool was taking their own actions for

their own reasons and coming together.
The city of Orario might appear calm on the surface, but excitement was

building underneath its placid exterior.
The War Game was fast approaching. With each passing day, the average

citizens of the city discussed it on the streets, at their workplaces, and over a jug
of ale at their favorite bar. The number of adventurers going into the Dungeon
fell dramatically, forcing disappointed shops to close early. No one seemed to
want to do anything else. Even the children seemed to sense that something was
different. Many of them gathered in city parks wielding toy swords and staging
their own games.

Orario was quietly, but undoubtedly, boiling over with excitement. It grew
more intense as the War Game drew nearer.

Most of all, the ones closest to the people caught in the whirlpool had their

own reactions as they watched the preparations unfold.

The curtain of night fell over the city, revealing a star-filled sky.
The white tower in the middle of it all looked over the city as magic-stone
lamps gradually lit up its surroundings.
“Lady Freya, it has been completed as ordered…Lady Freya?”
In the highest room of Babel Tower.
While Freya heard the words of her follower, Ottar, she didn’t respond in the
slightest.
The man looked upon her in concerned confusion as she ran her fingers
through her long, gorgeous silver hair. The goddess sat in her usual chair facing
the window, watching something outside with so much intensity that Ottar was
afraid the glass would melt.
“…Fu-fu.”
Her silver eyes were being drawn to a fierce battle taking place atop the city
wall.
The blond-haired, golden-eyed knight along with the warrior wielding
massive twin blades fought two-on-one against a white-haired boy. Two female,
one male, three different spirits “glowed” as they clashed. Freya was enjoying
every second of it.
She felt no pity for the boy whenever he was launched into the air by the
Amazonian girl or cut down by the long-haired human.
This was because every time the boy got up, his soul shone brighter. It was as
if this training ground was a forge and the girls were eliminating all impurities,
like a smith prepping metal. They were drawing out his soul’s clear glow.
It was that glow that originally drew Freya to him and would hold her interest
until the end of time. Every hit the boy took added a new sparkle. The goddess
sat there, completely transfixed.
“…Are you certain that we can allow Apollo’s followers to go through with
this?”
Ottar tried once again to draw her attention away from the city wall.
Her eyes stayed put, but she used one thin finger to pull a lock of her silver
hair behind her ear and grinned.
“I thought about crushing them for trying something so stupid but…No.”
Her silver eyes narrowed as they followed the boy charging back into battle
against the human girl and the Amazon.
“No goddess worthy of her divinity wouldn’t want to see how this turns out.”

Her cheeks pulled back into a full smile as she looked down from her spot
among the stars.

Unable to rest, the stars twinkled brightly through the night.
Even at this late hour, the Guild headquarters was alive with activity. Clerks
holding stacks of papers, receptionists carrying boxes upon boxes, and
employees with no time to sit down were busily working in every corner of the
Pantheon decorated with white pillars.
With the War Game only four days away, there was enough work to be done
to make their eyes spin.
“No more! I’m gonna die right here!”
“Misha, you’re too heavy…”
The human receptionist Misha set yet another stack of papers down on her
desk before drifting over to Eina and collapsing onto her back amid the
commotion. The half-elf looked at her old friend with tired eyes as she spoke
again.
“Eina, wha’cha doing…?”
“Making a plan to keep people away from the war zone…Advising, I guess.”
A small mountain range of paperwork encircled her desk, each pile bearing
Eina’s handwriting.
“Do not enter” was written in big, bold letters—all referring to the Shreme
Castle ruins located southeast of Orario.
“Shreme Castle…Didn’t that group of robbers decide to move in a while
back?”
“Yes. Ganesha Familia accepted our request to remove them ahead of time.
A few quests have also been issued to help them out…It’s a good opportunity to
catch them while we can.”
Eina continued writing while she responded to Misha’s question.
Misha could hear the constrained energy in Eina’s voice despite her weak
tone. The girl looked at the side of Eina’s face before standing up and bringing
her chair next to her.
“Eina…are you worried about Bell?”
“…Worried? How could I not be worried…”
Her expression became cloudy as her emerald eyes trembled.
Her head drooped as she brought her hand to her chest. One of the
adventurers assigned to her, practically a little brother at this point, was caught
up in a battle between Familias. And now he’d been forced into a War Game in

which it wasn’t uncommon for participants to die. Needles pierced her heart just
by visualizing the boy’s innocent smile—would she never see it again?

If she could convince him to run away or maybe assist him, maybe she
wouldn’t be in this much pain.

“But I’m an employee of the Guild…I can’t interfere in any way.”
However, the situation had progressed so far that one half-elf couldn’t have
any influence at all. Eina knew that she was powerless in the face of the forces at
work.
That fact had soaked in completely. The tone in Eina’s voice bordered on
despair. She felt utterly useless.
“We____ll, you know…You could root for him?”
Misha could tell that her friend was upset and tried to cheer her up.
Eina looked up at her.
“Root…?”
“Yep. ‘Go for it!’ and stuff like that? I’m sure that if he had your support,
he’d do the best he could to win, right?”
Eina looked at Misha’s childish smile for a few moments.
Finally, she stood up and walked over to the window at the end of the office.
The moon shone brightly down on her as she looked up at the night sky.
“…Go for it.”
Eina whispered to the moonlight.

“Ahh, how patient must I be…”
The deity’s eyes slowly closed in a dark room illuminated by moonlight.
Sitting on an ornate throne made of gold, Apollo brought a glass of wine to
his lips.
The manor that he called home was tranquil, a good distance away from the
noisy areas of the city. Tonight, it was much quieter than usual. The bulk of his
Familia had already left to prepare the castle ruins that would become their
battlefield. As it was their role in this battle to defend it, Apollo Familia had a lot
of work to do.
If his only goal was to steal Bell away from Hestia, it would’ve been easy
enough to continue their assault and capture him even without the cooperation of
Soma Familia. If he had done so, the boy would already be his.
However, Apollo was partial to the idea of a War Game.
There was a very clear difference between a conflict fought on the streets and
the War Game. Crushing a foe in battle to obtain an objective left everyone

involved with a sour taste in their mouths. On the other hand, should he obtain
his prize by following a set of rules, then he would be able to bask in the glory of
victory and enjoy the spoils. It was, after all, a game. He would not allow the
Guild or any other group to profit from this situation. With victory, he would
gain the authority to take the follower of the enemy god—if Hestia refused to
perform a Conversion, it was impossible to make Bell his own both in name and
reality.

Above all, the other gods would not be satisfied by such a quick turn of
events. Apollo had gathered the support of many gods who were starving for
some “entertainment” in order to capture Bell. He owed them the show they
were dying to see.

He also wanted some amusement.
A war of gods fought by mortals. By far the most delicious flavor of Gekai, it
was enjoyed by all gods.
There was no greater excitement than to be able to move their followers like
pieces on a board game without any kind of interference.
Those were Apollo’s true feelings—the influence of his own divinity.
His wants and desires swirling within him, the god wearing a crown of
laurels looked toward the sky.
“Oh, my beloved Bell Cranell…will there ever come a day I can embrace you
in my own arms?”
He wasn’t sure when he first knew of the boy—most likely when the rumors
of a new record holder came to light. Apollo had a habit of indulging in
everything new and fresh. Picturing the events that would soon unfold brought
him great joy. His very body shook with anticipation.
—Ahh, Bell!
—No, my Belly-boy!
—You won’t get away!
He could see the boy now, a tear in his eye. But something else was swelling
up within him. This heat surging through his chest was proof of his love.
Apollo’s craving for the boy was on the verge of driving him insane. His thin,
compact build and rabbitlike features with white hair and young, red eyes that
were untainted by the truths of this world—everything.
Apollo’s cheeks flushed like those of a drunken man.
“…If our love is to grow, Hestia, you will only get in the way. Once he is
mine, I will drive you out of this city—no, out of Gekai entirely.”
Coming back to reality, Apollo opened his eyes and looked up at the stars.

The moonlight reflected off his suddenly serious eyes as his lips curled
upward.

“I’m counting on you, my cute little children…”
A low laugh resonated from his room beneath the calming moonbeams.
Click. A few moments later, both hands of his clock joined him in looking
skyward.
The time drew near.

The city was filled with a morning chill just before sunrise.
The streets were lined with silent and motionless shops. Shutters were closed

over windows and doors; it was unbelievable how lifeless the city seemed. The
city wall cast a tall shadow over the buildings, the streets covered in shade.

Two figures ran quickly through East Main Street toward the brightening
horizon through the unnaturally quiet morning air.

“You have to hurry, Bell! The caravan’s about to leave!”
“Right behind you!”
Hestia and Bell ran through what was left of the morning fog. Their
destination was the East Gate. They kept talking as they ran.
“They already know you’re coming. There’s a spot for you on one of their
horse-drawn carts. Get off at a town called Agris, it’s pretty close to the old
castle! Guild employees will give you instructions from there, so pay attention!”
“Will do!”
The War Game would start the day after tomorrow.
Bell had finished training with Aiz and Tiona and had received a Status
update from Hestia. Now all that was left was to travel to the battlefield. It
would take a day to get there, so arrangements had been made for Bell to travel
with the caravan of merchants for most of the trip.
He was dressed in light but strong traveler’s clothes with a cloak around his
shoulders. Everything else he needed was in a bag over his shoulder, the
drawstring held tight in his grasp.
“Everyone else is already there, so meet up with them in town! Also, here’s
your travel permit issued by the Guild—show it to the gatekeepers and the leader
of the caravan!”
Orario was set up so that it was relatively easy to enter the city but
extraordinarily difficult to exit. An individual needed several documents

approved by the Guild before they were allowed to pass. Bell took the signed
sheets of paper identifying him as a War Game participant from Hestia and said
a quick “Thank you.”

At last, they arrived at the heavily fortified East Gate. Somehow, it looked a
lot smaller to Bell now than it did when he’d passed through a few months ago.
Members of the caravan were already here, talking excitedly amongst
themselves. Bell and Hestia worked their way through lines of horse-drawn carts
and large storage containers on wheels toward the head of the caravan before
stopping in front of the first gate.

“…I’ll be waiting right here for your glorious return.”
“…See you then, Goddess!”
Hestia smiled at him. Bell smiled back.
That’s when Hestia jumped onto his chest, wrapped her arms around him, and
squeezed with all her might. Bell’s body tensed out of embarrassment, but he
didn’t try to escape. He couldn’t. Hestia ignored all the commotion around them
and enjoyed the warmth emanating from his chest as long as she could. Bell’s
face turned beet red as her arms worked higher, going above his shoulders and
around his neck as she started to pull back. Meeting his gaze, she opened her
mouth into a bright, gentle smile as she said, “Now go.”
Bell took a step back, a shy smile on his face. Wiping his hot cheeks with his
free hand, the boy turned and ran to the front of the caravan. “Wait for me!” he
yelled to the front and took off into the maze of carts. The caravan leader was
talking with one of the gatekeepers. Both looked up as the boy approached,
holding out his paperwork for them to see.
The gatekeeper was an adventurer—probably someone who had accepted an
assignment from the Guild. Two Guild employees emerged from the gate office
from behind him and took Bell’s paperwork. Reading it over, they nodded to
each other. The caravan leader pointed to a cart in the line and told Bell to take a
seat.
The horse-drawn cart that Bell climbed into was more spacious than he
thought. It had a roof as well as windows on each side. A few people—some
travelers, merchants, and a hired guard—were already on board. Each of them
had a very distinct look about him or her, a few in light armor and others in
comfortable clothes.
“…Hey, you there. Aren’t you the Little Rookie from Hestia Familia?”
“Ah, yeah, that’s me.”
“Thought so! On your way to the War Game, huh? Give ’em hell!”

Bell took a seat at the back corner of the cart next to a rather friendly animal
person who immediately recognized him and started a conversation. The smiling
young man had the aura of a drifter and a bushy tail wagging cheerfully behind
him. The tension in the cart dissipated as the other passengers came over to
break the ice.

“Those guys are rough, but give it your best shot!” “This is our tradition, we
have some snacks before every trip!” “How ’bout this?!”

Each of them came over with handfuls of nougat, dried fruit, and tarts.
Surrounded by kind and welcoming people, Bell couldn’t help but smile, nod his
head, and manage to say, “Th-thank you…” He didn’t really like sweet foods but
he didn’t want to reject their goodwill and decided to eat everything he was
offered.

The cart lurched beneath him as it started to move forward.
The cries of many horses cut through the morning air. The East Gate was
open; the caravan started to move.
Bell felt every bump in the road through his wooden seat when suddenly—
“—Bell!”
He heard someone call his name.
He leaned over to look out the window and saw Syr running right beside the
cart.
“Syr?! What are you doing? It’s dangerous!”
Bell lifted the window open and called out to her.
She was out of uniform, wearing a cape over her usual clothes and running as
hard as she could to keep up with the cart. She thrust her right hand toward the
window.
“Take this…!”
“Huh?”
Something golden glinted from within her outstretched hand. Bell reached
outside out of reflex.
She gave him an amulet. It was in the shape of a golden teardrop, a jewel in
its center. It had to be an accessory that granted the wearer some kind of power.
Bell raised his eyes from the item in his hand to look at Syr.
“It was a thank-you gift to the bar from an adventurer a while ago…A good-
luck charm!”
Bell’s eyes shot open as he listened to her explanation.
“Do your best! And please come back to our bar!”
The cart picked up speed and Syr couldn’t stay beside it, almost tripping a

few times.
“I-I’ll have a lunch ready for you! I’ll be waiting!”
The girl’s cheeks blushed a light pink. Bell couldn’t help but smile.
He leaned out the window and waved good-bye as she fell farther and farther

behind. She came to a stop, put her hands together in front of her chest, and
watched the cart disappear through the East Gate.

“…”
Bell returned to his seat and looked again at the shining amulet in his hand.
Sliding the thin chain around his neck, he tucked the amulet under his shirt.
—Win.
—Win and come back.
The faces of everyone he’d met in Orario flooded his mind as he swore to see
them again. Squeezing the amulet with his right hand through his shirt, the boy
suddenly realized he was smiling.
He looked outside the window as he felt every bump in the road shake his
seat.
The sun was just peeking over the mountains in the distance.
Bell shielded his eyes from the bright morning light.

The ruins of Shreme Castle.
Standing in a field void of trees or hills, the castle had been built in ancient

times as the first line of defense. Completed before Babel Tower served as a
“lid” over the Dungeon, it was used to stop the advance of monsters that
emerged from the hole to attack nearby towns and villages. Many castles just
like this one were built relatively close to Orario for just this reason. Most of
them had been destroyed or collapsed after centuries of neglect, but Shreme was
used as a staging point by the kingdom of Rakia in the war almost one thousand
years ago. Several of its main towers were damaged, but the castle’s main wall
and other defenses were very much intact. Now it had been selected to host the
War Game.

The outer wall stood an impressive ten meders high, even higher in the areas
where the towers once stood. The wall itself was more than thick enough to
withstand the strongest of attacks—perhaps with the exception of a powerful
blast of magical energy. Even top-class adventurers would have difficulty
cracking it. The castle was located in an open area and very easy to attack. This

wall was the main reason it had lasted so long.
“Get some clay over here. Reinforce everything that’s fixable.”
Night had already fallen, the moon shining brightly overhead. Apollo Familia

was hard at work making their final preparations for the War Game that would
begin in a few short hours.

One hundred ten of them had arrived three days ago and had been working
around the clock to make sure the castle was ready. That was almost all of their
Familia. Working in groups, they had made repairs to the castle itself as well as
set up hidden stores of spare weapons and items in various places inside the
structure.

“Humph, pointless…Why bother?”
The fortress’s main tower stood above the wreckage of the other towers in the
very middle of the castle. Hyacinthus watched the other members of his Familia
work from the top floor.
The time limit for the Castle Siege War Game had been set at three days.
Apollo Familia would win if either he was alive after that time or if the enemy
general—without a doubt, Bell Cranell—was defeated in combat.
It was their role as the defender to make sure the castle was ready, but it was
obvious that they could win without all this fuss. Hyacinthus had heard that the
enemy ranks had increased as of late, but they would face no more than five
combatants. What point was there in having more than one hundred warriors
repair a castle when they could crush their enemy outright in a head-to-head
battle?
“Lord Apollo, why? Why a castle siege…?”
Hyacinthus was very confident that he could win without all of these
favorable conditions. Did his god not trust him and the rest of the Familia? The
man was feeling underappreciated, as though Apollo had forgotten what he was
capable of.
The disgruntled man walked away from the window and took a seat on the
throne at the back of the room. The throne itself had been there when Apollo
Familia first arrived, but they had made a few modifications. Very comfortable,
the back of the ornate chair was an enlarged version of the Familia emblem, a
burning sun with a bow and arrow. The rest of the room was decorated with
artwork and had been cleaned spotless because Hyacinthus had ordered everyone
under his command to make the space pleasing to the eye.
Leaning back on his throne, Hyacinthus begrudgingly laughed through his
nose.

“What a boring game…”

“—Yeah, Hyacinthus would say something like that…”
The short-haired woman, Daphne, grumbled to herself as she looked up at the
throne room from her post on top of the solid castle wall.
Rakia had made a few strange modifications when they occupied the castle.
Their god must have really enjoyed showing off because the main tower had
many complex designs built onto its surface. It had a luxurious feel to it despite
being the castle’s last line of defense. Seeing her own Familia’s emblem
attached to the top of the main tower made her want to laugh out of sheer
absurdity. That hunk of metal was so big it could probably be seen from Orario.
Daphne sighed to herself and continued with her own assignment. It was her
job to motivate the other members to hurry up with the wall repairs. The hard
part was that most of them shared Hyacinthus’s opinion of the upcoming battle
and couldn’t wait to watch it unfold. Despite having more than one hundred
workers under her command, making sure that there were no weak points in any
of the walls of the castle had been frustrating beyond belief.
Also, Ganesha Familia had arrived at Shreme a few days before Daphne and
the rest of Apollo Familia in order to clear out the group of thieves and
marauders that had been living in the castle. Since they’d been ordered not to
damage the castle in any way before the War Game, the eviction had been
carried out by digging holes under the wall and catching the squatters by
surprise. They’d captured every single one of the criminals in less than a day.
Daphne made sure that they filled in the holes before returning to Orario.
“Daph…”
“Cassandra?”
Magic-stone lamps lit up the top of the wall in place of the torches of old.
Cassandra approached Daphne, nervously calling out to her.
She came to a stop in front of one of the lamps, only half of her face
illuminated in the light. She embraced her own trembling body with both arms as
if she were afraid it would fall apart.
“It’s no good…We need to get far away from here.”
“Huh?”
“The castle, the castle will fall…”
Daphne’s expression turned to annoyance as she listened to the nonsense
coming out of Cassandra’s mouth.
“Another dream? You know it’s too late to do that now. Get it together.”

“Please, please, Daph, believe me…!”
Cassandra desperately begged her friend to take her prophetic dream
seriously even though there was no way it could come to pass.
Daphne ignored her and continued inspecting the wall, but Cassandra was
much more persistent than usual. The long-haired girl’s shoulders slumped as if
she were debating whether or not to keep trying, before freezing on the spot.
Surprised by the sudden silence, Daphne turned around to face her.
Cassandra’s face was pale and gaunt as if she were moments away from death,
eyes transfixed on a spot below them.
“No, we can’t let it in. There’s still time; it mustn’t come inside…”
A small line of horse-drawn carts carrying the last of their supplies was
approaching the wall just outside the gate. The girl watched, horrified, as the
gate opened.
“Heey! Wait up, will you?!”
Luan yelled at the top of his lungs, chasing the last cart as he watched the
castle gate start to close.
The driver of the last cart ordered his horse to gallop to cover the distance,
forcing the prum into an all-out sprint just to make it inside the gate before it
shut completely. A dull thud sounded a moment after he slid between the
massive iron blocks.
“Why, why would you shut it when I’m still out there?” the small prum man
asked in a pathetic, panting voice to the exceptionally large animal person
standing at the gate controls.
The large man just laughed. “Hee-hee, so you were there, Luan. You’re so
tiny! Couldn’t see you at all.”
The lower-class adventurer known as Luan Espel looked much younger than
his age, almost like a child. Other members of Apollo Familia treated him like
the bottom of the barrel because of the combination of his rank and his
appearance. That was why he’d been assigned to bring supplies to the castle at
this late hour.
Prums were often discriminated against because of their short size and
unintimidating presence. “Come on,” he retorted as other members of the
Familia joined in the laughter.
“…Quite a large shipment you brought in.”
“Three days’ worth of weapons and rations. Best to be ready, you know?”
The animal person laughed again, saying that he was being a little too careful
considering their opponent. The large man didn’t even look at Luan as he started

to inspect the shipment.
In moments, other members of the Familia were unloading box after box

from the carts and taking them to the castle’s already well-stocked storage
rooms.

“Aaah…”
Cassandra watched it all unfold from her spot on top of the wall.
Daphne had never seen her friend like this. Although she felt something was
wrong with the girl, Daphne turned to leave.
“Wake up, we have work to do!”
Cassandra watched Daphne’s back pass in and out of the light of the magic-
stone lamps. She took a deep breath and let out a long, heavy sigh.
Then she whispered in a shaking voice like a prophet who’d seen the end of
the world.
“It’s too late…The Trojan horse is inside the wall.”

“What took you?”
“Sorry.”
“Are your preparations in order?”
“Yes. My goddess upgraded my Status already.”
“Great. Now, here’s the knife I promised you. The cutting edge is way better

than the first one, I guarantee it.”
“Thanks.”
“Sir Welf…What about those?”
“Ready and waiting. Didn’t have much time, so I could only finish two.”
“…Um, Welf, are you sure this is all right?”
“Yeah…I’ve stopped compromising allies for pride.”
“?”
“Never mind…Yo, you can take these now. But I warn you, they were very

rushed so I’m not sure about their full power or how long they’ll last. Don’t
waste them.”

“Understood.”
“Well, then…Everything is going according to Lady Hestia’s plan.”
“Yep. And tomorrow—we take down the castle.”
“Yes…Let’s win this.”
Several voices went unheard under the cover of night.

War Game versus Apollo Familia. Classification—Castle Siege.
Victory condition: defeat the enemy general.
The long night was almost over.



CHAPTER 5

OUR WAR GAME

The city was bustling.
The War Game everyone had been waiting for was finally here. There was an

atmosphere of energy and passion not normally seen within the city wall.
Every bar opened early; workers at restaurants and food stands stood ready

for the incoming onslaught. The reason this game had received so much
attention was due to a few gods demanding that posters be hung all around the
city as advertisement. These deities wanted as big of an audience as possible to
build tension. The posters themselves were dominated by Apollo Familia’s
burning sun and bow emblem. Since Hestia Familia didn’t have any kind of
symbol, a white rabbit had been painted into the corner.

Almost no adventurers even considered prowling the Dungeon on a day like
today. Instead, they were jam-packed into their favorite bars with even more
adventurers coming in every moment. As for the workers and citizens who
managed to get the day off, they made their way to Central Park. Not a single
one could contain their anticipation as they waited with bated breath for the
opening bell.

“Test—test, one…two…Ahem. Gooood morning and good day! I’ll be
providing blow-by-blow analysis of today’s events, the chattering fireball
himself, Ganesha Familia’s Ibly Archer! Some of you may already know me as
the Fire Inferno Flame. Remember that name!”

A temporary stage had been built in the front garden of the Guild
headquarters. A dark-skinned man claiming to be a commentator for the War
Game stood at the front of it with a magic-stone voice magnifier clutched in his
hand. A large crowd had already gathered in front of him.

“Joining me today to add his own insights into the festivities is none other
than Lord Ganesha himself. Lord Ganesha, a word, please!”

“—I am Ganesha!”
“Yes, thank you very much for that!”

A god wearing a large elephant mask climbed up to the stage at Ibly’s prompt
and struck a pose as he yelled at the top of his lungs. The god received a round
of applause.

The Guild had worked with the merchants to turn this match into a holiday of
sorts. Many people from other cities around the world would come to Orario to
watch the battle, meaning more customers for the merchants. At the same time,
the Guild used this opportunity to advertise Orario’s image and draw more
adventurers into the city.

But, of course, no one was looking forward to the War Game more than the
gods.

“Woah, they’re livin’ it up out there!” said Loki with her face plastered to the
window, looking down at the crowds.

Many deities had gathered on the thirtieth floor of Babel Tower. All of them
were on the edge of their seats, overflowing with excitement. Hestia and Apollo,
the two gods at “war” in this battle, were among them.

The ones not present in Babel Tower had chosen to watch the game in the
bars among the people or with their followers from the comfort of their own
homes.

“Lord Hermes…are you certain I am allowed here?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it. The only ones who would care aren’t here
anyway.”
One very uncomfortable mortal woman was among the gods and goddesses
inside the wide confines of the thirtieth floor. But Hermes laughed off Asfi’s
concern. She tried her best to make herself as small as possible as Hermes
reached inside the front of his shirt.
“…Should be about time.”
The damaged pocket watch he withdrew showed three minutes until noon.
Hermes lifted his chin toward the ceiling and took a deep breath.
“Well then, Uranus, we need your permission to use our ‘power.’”
Hermes’s powerful words echoed around the chamber. They were answered a
moment later.
“—Granted.”
The response spread throughout the city, the heavy syllables heard
everywhere from the Guild headquarters to the bars to the crowd gathered in
Central Park.
Deities all around Orario cracked their knuckles and set to work.
“__________!”

Mortals far and wide gasped in amazement as hundreds of “windows”
appeared all over the city.

The gods were only allowed to use one specific type of Arcanum—the
“Divine Mirror.” Any god or goddess could use their power of clairvoyance to
show what was happening at a different location at any time. It went without
saying that it was to increase their enjoyment of life on Gekai.

This way, every deity in Orario could watch the War Game alongside their
children, even though the battle would take place far from the city.

“Now that the mirrors are in place, I’ll set the stage once again! Today’s War
Game is a Castle Siege battle between Hestia Familia and Apollo Familia! Both
factions’ combatants are already in place and waiting for the signal to begin!”

Magic “windows” of various sizes filled the bars, the Guild’s front garden,
and Central Park. Each of the circles hovered in midair, showing different angles
of the castle, Apollo Familia’s oversize emblem, and the surrounding prairie. A
roar of excitement erupted from the crowd as Ibly raised the voice enhancer back
to his lips and started giving background information.

“All bets in—?! Won’t accept any once things get under way!”
Ibly’s voice echoed through all the bars in the city. The owner of one such
establishment raised his voice to cut through the din of his patrons as well as the
commentary. Merchants and adventurers alike were laying odds and making bets
on the outcome of the War Game between Hestia Familia and Apollo Familia.
Their favorite ale in one hand and large amounts of money in the other, the
patrons made their bets and took their seats in front of one of the many
“windows.”
“Team Apollo and Team Hestia, outnumbered almost twenty-five-to-one…”
“But the odds are twenty-to-one in Apollo Familia’s favor…Lower than I
thought it’d be. What idiot bet on the little guys?”
Two adventurers sitting side by side at the table looked over the information
they were given at the betting counter. Team Apollo was the overwhelming
favorite and betting on them should be the smart thing to do, and yet there were
some who had put money on Team Hestia.
“Gotta be those deities over there…”
Gods and goddesses were known for going after the jackpot rather than
making safe bets. The two adventurers looked at three in particular with blank
stares as the deities became more and more enthralled with the mirror in front of
them. “Uahh!” “It’s time, it’s time!” “Come on, lucky rabbit!” Tickets in hand,
all three were shaking with anticipation and praying with all their might.

Meanwhile, at another bar…
“What’s this? Borin’ as hell if everyone bets on Apollo…”
Another bookie looked around the bar, a bit disappointed. At that moment, a
human adventurer walked up to the grumbling dwarf and set down a large bag of
coins on the counter.
“—one hundred thousand on the rabbit!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”
“Are you serious? Hit your head or something, Mord?!”
“Anyone else willin’ to ride Hestia Familia’s luck? Aha-ha-ha!”
The excitement level in the bar doubled as the tough-looking human placed
his bet. The man smirked at his companions’ looks of disbelief—for he had once
attacked Bell with seething hatred on the eighteenth floor of the Dungeon. Mord
sat down on the nearest chair, folded his arms, and thrust his chin forward with
unwavering confidence.
Every corner of the city had been whipped into a frenzy. Their furor would
boil over at this rate.
“I hope you’ve said your last good-byes to Bell Cranell?”
“…”
High above the whirlwind of tension and street level, Apollo approached
Hestia inside Babel Tower.
The god’s hair had been perfectly set for the occasion. He approached
Hestia’s seat with a smug grin plastered on his lips. Hestia didn’t respond, only
turned her back to him with her eyes glued on her own personal mirror.
“My, my,” said Apollo with a shrug. He started back to his own chair, calm
and extremely self-assured.
“We are just seconds from noon!”
The commentator’s voice filled the thirtieth floor.
Waves of cheers ran through the garden in front of the Guild headquarters.
“Here we go…”
“Yes…”
Eina and Misha talked quietly as both girls watched the large Divine Mirror
floating behind the stage.
The eyes of adventurers, bar owners and staff, merchants, and gods all
focused on the images inside of those “windows.”
And then…
“The War Game—has begun!”
Loud, deep bells rang out to signal the start of the battle.

At that moment, inside the castle ruins…
The ringing of the bells that signaled the start of the War Game wafted

through the windows from afar.
Compared to the thrilling atmosphere in Orario, the battlefield itself was

underwhelming.
Since this was a castle siege, the time limit had been set at three days. The

vast majority of Apollo Familia believed that their opponent’s strategy would be
to wait until the last day when their concentration would be lowest because they
didn’t have the numbers to attack the castle head-on. As long as they kept their
eye out for any probing attacks, they should be fine right where they were.

The mood inside the castle walls was relaxed.
“Hey, Luan. Go take a lookout post.”
“Wha……Why do I have to?!”
Luan the prum’s superior ordered him to leave the meticulously cleaned and
decorated inner sanctum. “You’ve got good eyesight, right? Since you can’t
fight, go do some laps around the wall like you did yesterday. Might as well be
useful while you can.”
The castle itself was deceptively wide, big enough that one hundred people
would have difficulty maintaining a constant visual around its entire
circumference. They would always be shorthanded somewhere. Luan didn’t
want to leave the comfort of the inner castle, but he begrudgingly obeyed the
order.
He could hear the others laughing at him as he closed the door to the chamber
and climbed the stairwell leading to the top of the wall.
“Hey, Luan. What are you doing here?”
“…Looking out.”
Two archers on patrol spotted him immediately when the prum emerged on
the north edge of the wall. The two chuckled to themselves as soon as they heard
those two words, knowing exactly what had happened. Luan turned his back on
the two of them and looked out at the northern plains.
There was almost nothing out there. Sure, there was a random tree or boulder
here and there, but no place for anyone to hide. The grasslands spread out from
the north and out to the east. A river ran past the castle to the south and the edge
of a forest was visible to the west. A gust of wind passed through the prum’s hair
as he narrowed his eyes toward the north, when he heard voices coming from

behind.
“Magic is really the only threat.”
“What’re you worried about? This big guy’s got a few presents for anyone

who shows up.”
An animal person stroked his longbow and bared his fangs in a long grin,

completely brushing off the other archer’s warning.
The power and range of all Magic was determined by the length of its trigger

spell. The defensive wall was so thick and sturdy that only a really powerful type
of Magic would have any hope of doing damage, let alone cracking it. Magic
with a long trigger spell would be the enemy’s only option.

Any mage who wandered within range of their bows would be greeted by a
rain of arrows long before they could finish reciting their trigger spell. The
animal person wasn’t worried in the slightest.

“Keh,” coughed Luan in disgust, knowing that the two of them had
everything covered. He had been given a pointless errand.

It was then—
The prum’s eyes caught something moving in the distance.
Someone walking through the grassland to the north straight toward the
wall…A vaguely human figure completely covered by a cloak.
“H-hey!”
“What’s that…?”
It was very strange attire for anyone to be wearing. Most likely, the person
had a hooded cape on underneath a long cloak that hid everything above the
ankle. The archers took notice of the hooded figure as well.
There was no doubt it was an enemy. However, the enemy warrior was alone
and not casting a spell. The hooded figure was walking slowly but surely in their
direction. Luan’s eyes opened in fright at the mysterious warrior’s aura of calm,
which smoldered like hot coals buried under ash. The breeze made the figure’s
cloak sway, the flapping sounds reaching the sentry’s ears.
All three of them stood, watching the figure come within one hundred meders
of the castle wall.
The hooded figure chose that moment to make its move.
Whoosh! It spread its arms out wide, outer cloak flying open, exposing what
was hidden underneath.
Two thin, feminine hands held on to scarlet and violet blades—twin magic
swords.
“Huh?”

Luan’s eyes became as round as the full moon as he watched the two long
blades swing forward at the same time.

An overwhelming mass of magical energy was reflected in the eyes of
everyone present on the north edge of the wall.

“Wh-what—wassat?!”
Utter chaos broke out within the castle the second that the magical energy hit

the wall.
Screams echoed through the stone hallways as more impacts rocked the

structure. Those who emerged from the main tower were immediately lost for
words when they saw what had happened to their precious wall.

The breeze took enough of the clouds of smoke away for them to see that a
piece of the wall was missing.

“U-unbelievable! It’s them—they’re attacking!”
Luan, who had been knocked off the top of the wall by the first blast, climbed
back up. The same people who ordered him to “look out” a few moments ago
brushed up to him in a panic.
“How many?!”
“J-just one!”
The prum’s superiors squinted at him, as if trying to make sure they’d heard
him right. Luan, himself, was visibly shaken by fear. Still, he forced trembling
words out of his mouth.
“C-could that be…N-no, it has to be! Crozzo’s Magic Swords! They’re going
to break down the wall with legendary weapons?!”
A collective gasp emerged from the small group of people who had gathered
around him. They knew he spoke the truth.
There was no other magic sword in this wide world that could possibly break
through a wall of that size in one hit. Since this wasn’t cast Magic, Luan’s
suggestion was the only explanation that made sense. Any doubts they had
instantly disappeared.
Almost on cue, the voices of lookouts on top of the main tower rang out.
“One enemy?!” “Attacking with magic swords!” Words that started as a call to
arms ended in screams laced with fear and surprise.
“The castle’ll be blown sky high at this rate!”
Luan yelled in sheer terror, his comrades frozen on the spot. Suddenly, KA-

BOOM! The remains of the lookout tower only a few meders away took a direct
hit. Large chunks of stone flew in every direction, showering the archers and
onlookers with debris.

“UWWAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” Luan shrieked at the top of his lungs.
Leaving his allies behind, he rushed back into the relative safety of the inner
sanctum.

“To think, there would come a day when I would use this magic sword…”
The hooded figure, Lyu, whispered to herself as she swung both blades

toward the castle.
One flick of the scarlet blade sent a giant, crackling fireball hurtling toward

the target. Bringing down the violet blade brought forth a thick column of
electricity that snaked its way to the castle in less than a heartbeat. Both were
powerful enough to pierce the outer layer of rock, sending bits and pieces high
into the air.

The weapons had been prepared by Welf in less than a week. Crozzo Magic
Swords.

The blades created by men with cursed blood were so powerful that they
overpowered opponents to the point a counterattack was impossible. The
kingdom of Rakia had demonstrated their power during the war, and the world
had not forgotten the devastation they wrought.

There were even stories about how they’d used Crozzo Magic Swords to turn
a previously impenetrable fortress into a pile of rubble in one night. The ultimate
siege weapon.

“You cannot hit me from there.”
Archers hastily brought down a rain of arrows from the still-intact parts of
the wall. However, Lyu had no trouble dodging them. Every time she spun, she
swung one of the magic swords forward, engulfing the archers and magic users
with flaming explosions and electrical eruptions. The sound was deafening even
from this distance as even more of the castle wall came crumbling to the ground.
Its structural integrity gone, the heavily damaged northern wall started to tilt
inward. Hurling a series of magical attacks stronger than regular Magic, Lyu
worked her way east as she continued the assault. It wasn’t long before the
castle’s eastern wall began to crumble under their power.
“If you insist on doing nothing, I’ll bring the castle down on top of you.”

Her sky-blue eyes narrowed from beneath her hood.
Another beam of electricity shot straight through the opening in the castle
wall, lighting up the inside like a storm cloud. It didn’t take long for screams of
pain to reach her ears.
“Now, come out.”
One more spin, and yet another explosion rocked the castle.

“S-status report! What the hell is going on?!”
Screams of panic and terror replaced the relaxed atmosphere inside the castle

as Lyu continued her bombardment. Everyone was at a loss as to how to handle
such an unpredictable and dangerous opponent.

Their arrows weren’t connecting, spells couldn’t be finished—Luan emerged
from the middle chamber, running as if his life depended on it.

“Orders from Hyacinthus! Take fifty fighters and take that guy out!”
“Fifty?!”
Everyone present inside the sanctum was taken aback by that number. That
would slice the forces defending the castle in half to take care of one enemy.
Luan was quick to cut them off.
“Those magic swords will mow down any small groups we send! They don’t
even have ten fighters—just get rid of that one and get back here!”
Everyone fell silent in the face of reason. Yet another explosion rocked the
wall, sending shock waves through the stone and cracking the surface beneath
their feet. “UwaHH!” Luan jumped back as small stones fell from the ceiling,
and he ran away.
“C-come on, let’s get going!”
“Tsk…No choice. Move out!”
Luan’s message being the final push, fifty adventurers gathered around the
elf, Lissos, and rushed toward the east gate. The iron doors swung open, an early
afternoon breeze hitting their faces as another round of explosions made their
ears ring.
“Spread out!” Obeying Lissos’s command, the adventurers split into ten
groups of five as they converged on the hooded attacker from different angles.
“Guh, guahh…?!”
As predicted, the group that had taken point position was blown backward by
a sparkling electrical explosion. One group after another was mercilessly

knocked out of commission every time their enemy swung one of those two
magic swords. Lissos jumped over the burning grass and weaved his way
through the electrical strikes as he closed the distance.

Then he heard a cracking sound immediately after dodging a fireball. A
moment later, the crimson blade shattered into thousands of pieces.

“Now! Attack as one!”
The magic sword had exceeded its limit. The violet blade began to crack the
moment that Lissos ordered a full-out assault to seize the opportunity.
The hooded adventurer threw the remains of the weapons into the dirt and
withdrew a wooden sword from beneath her cloak to engage the thirty remaining
adventurers in close-quarters combat.
“S-so fast?!”
“Stay in formation; do not break ranks!”
It didn’t take long for the group under Lissos’s command to fall into chaos as
the hooded adventurer sprang into action. Most of them were third-tier, Level 2
adventurers facing down an enemy who was on her own—yet she unleashed a
massacre, wielding her wooden weapon with the force of gale winds. Cape
flapping vigorously behind her, she deflected three oncoming swords with one
upward sweep before sending a human who got too close twenty meders into the
air, using the momentum of her backswing to propel her blade forward.
Thirty adventurers couldn’t even land one blow against a single enemy.
“Haa!”
“!”
Lissos timed his sneak attack to land the moment the hooded adventurer was
repelling another weapon. The tip of his dagger cut across the enemy’s cheek.
The side of her hood had been sliced open enough to reveal, for just a
moment, a long ear in the shape of a leaf. Time froze for Lissos as he realized
the hooded adventurer was another elf. Fury spread through his veins like
wildfire.
“Bastard! An elf dirtying her hands with foul weapons such as magic swords
—have you no shame?!”
Rage filled Lissos’s body to the point that his ears were burning red as he
dove toward the hooded adventurer.
Crozzo’s Magic Swords had turned an elvish forest into ash. “Those weapons
destroyed the home of your people! How could you not know?!” He roared with
the anger and grudge of an entire race. In response, the hooded adventurer—Lyu
—remained expressionless and calm as she sideswiped the dagger, breaking it in

half.
“—”
“Regrettably, there is something more important to me than the animosity of

one people.”
Time stood still as Lissos watched his opponent step in, her words

overpowering him as her weapon came forward.
“If it is shameful to rescue a friend, I shall gladly accept that.”
Lissos saw her feet leave the ground in a spin before losing consciousness on

impact.

“This is incredible! Could Hestia Familia be looking to end this sooner rather
than later?!”

Cheers of surprise and excitement erupted all over Orario.
The mirrors floating in the air showed images of the smoking north and east
walls as well as the damage already taken by the inner tower of the old castle.
Still others focused solely on the relentless attacks of the mysterious hooded
adventurer who eliminated upper-class adventurers one by one in the blink of an
eye. She was gaining fans by the moment. Onlookers filling the streets shouted
cries of encouragement to the beautiful elf.
“Please tell us, Lord Ganesha, just what are those ferocious magic swords?”
“Those are—Ganesha?!”
“If you don’t feel like adding anything to the commentary, please go home,
Lord Ganesha!”
The atmosphere in the Guild’s front lawn was absolutely electric as the
announcers’ voices rang out throughout the city.
Meanwhile, inside the confines of Babel Tower in Central Park, many gods
and goddesses voiced admiration for her exploits.
“That hooded adventurer—damn good, am I right?”
“According to Hermes, that’s a ‘helper’ from outside the city.”
“Hooded adventurer…Leon something or other…”
“Apollo Familia’s response time is very quick.”
Three gods had gathered in the corner, all watching the same mirror and
exchanging opinions. Back at the main table, “Cheh!” Apollo snapped his
tongue in disgust. He bared his white teeth menacingly at Hestia, but the young-
looking goddess didn’t look up from her own mirror.